


As This Sun Sets

by andthentheybow



Series: sail across the sun [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dramatic Irony, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magic, Moral Dilemmas, Mutual Pining, Quests, Revolution, Soulmates, king george & knight dream with a twist, no beta we die like stupid block men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28843035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthentheybow/pseuds/andthentheybow
Summary: After a long and bloody political battle, the Rebellion has reigned triumphant. However, Dream and George both remain firmly under the newly-crowned King Schlatt’s control. Their only chance at true freedom is to complete an impossible task: to find and kill the enderdragon.Meanwhile, Pogtopia is working to take Schlatt down from the inside. Tubbo is struggling to control his growing magical abilities, and Tommy is struggling to choose between his brothers.As George and Dream search for the fabled stronghold, facing countless monsters and the most horrifying enemy of all- their feelings- the castle is left torn in two as an epic battle for power begins. The Rebellion may have won the battle against one tyrant king, but the true fight is just beginning.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Eret & Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: sail across the sun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2074038
Comments: 62
Kudos: 105





	1. Mvmt IV, Part 2: Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> don't be creepy about content creators, these are my interpretations of their personas, if they're uncomfortable this will be deleted. shipping is only personas of cc's that have said they're okay with it. respect cc boundaries & author boundaries- don't shove this at cc's, etc. again, this fic is entirely personas, which really should be a given by now.
> 
> did someday say sequel??? i think i heard sequel

It’s manhunt day.

The rules of a manhunt are simple: Dream goes around the castle and completes a series of difficult tasks. If he completes the final task before the hunters manage to take him down for more than ten seconds, he wins. If the hunters take him down, he loses.

It’s entertainment for the entire palace. They always play on days when Schlatt is away, and the newly-crowned king has no idea what they get up to. It’s like the entire castle takes the day off to watch the captain of the guard be chased around by his friends.

The hunters are always the same: George, Sapnap, Bad, and Antfrost. Ant started getting in on it a few months back, when they managed to create a permanent final task: a massive, magically-created dragon that Sam uses as an excuse to teach Tubbo and Quackity illusory magic.

Dream is currently clinging to the rafters in the grand dining hall. Wilbur and Skeppy are both sitting underneath him, trying not to laugh their asses off as he dangles. Bad ran through the room not twenty seconds before, stopped and had a conversation with Skeppy, and then took off again. He can hear Sapnap and George coming from down the hallway, and he stays as still as possible.

They don’t come in, thank ender. Dream lets out a breath as their voices fade, and Wilbur and Skeppy burst into laughter.

“You’re good, Dream!” Wilbur calls. “Hang from the dining hall rafters for two minutes, completed!”

Dream grunts something unintelligible in response and carefully starts making his way down, pausing to listen for any of the hunters. He drops the final few feet to the ground and takes off at a sprint.

“Got him!” Sapnap roars, lunging from just next to the doorway. Dream side-steps, spinning around to avoid his fellow knight. He sticks one foot out to trip Sapnap; as he goes down, he sends a blast of fire at Dream that he barely manages to avoid.

“No magic!” Dream yells, turning and running.

And George tackles him. He curses, trying to shove George off, but the prince clings hard.

“You’re not getting away this time!” George yells.

“He did finish the dining hall task,” Wilbur says, watching from the doorway. Several people have now gathered around to watch Dream and George rolling around on the floor, both trying to get the upper hand.

Dream has just managed to shove George off of him when Ant pushes through the crowd and takes him down. Dream can feel a potion hitting him, and he’s instantly weakened.

“No fuckin’ magic!” he yells.

“I got it fair, I did the job for it!” Ant retorts, sitting on top of him proudly. Dream curses as Wilbur leads the count to ten.

“I was on a win streak, too!” he complains. The potion wears off a moment later, and Ant grins good-naturedly and pulls him to his feet.

“What happened?” Bad yells, sprinting over. “Did we win?”

“Antfrost supremacy!” Sapnap yells.

Antfrost wasn’t even supposed to be here for this manhunt, Dream thinks. Sam and Tubbo aren’t here, their dragon for today was going to be created by Quackity if they needed it. It just so happened that Schlatt was called away to an emergency meeting with a few neighboring kingdoms, and Ant was around.

It’s been seven months since Schlatt took the throne. Seven months, and too many problems that, in Dream’s opinion, haven’t been resolved. And he can trace every single one of them back to the moment that the old king, George’s father, was killed.

The Pogtopia Rebellion fought to take the old king down for four years. Four long years of a revolution led by Generals Soot and Not Found, and by the end of it, half of the castle was working against the king from the inside. There was a long fight, and it ended with Dream, George, and the king.

Dream, George, and the king, all of whom, apparently, had magic. The king nearly killed them both, Dream’s magic reared its head for the first time ever, and sent Dream into what George has described as a coma for three days. His magic hasn’t shown its face since, and while he’s felt something similar to what George has described- a stirring in his chest, like there’s something else in him, trying to communicate with him- he’s displayed no other signs of being a magic user.

Magic users were heavily persecuted in the kingdom, part of the reason the Rebellion started in the first place. There are several distinct classes of magic users: instinctual magic users, whose magic is usually based in emotions; half-mages, whose magic is more centered around a specific type; and full mages, whose magic is generally more powerful as it’s what makes up their entire being. Or something like that, Dream really tried his best to listen while Sam was explaining it all to him, but he kept getting distracted by George and Sapnap sparring.

Dream knows a lot of magic-users; he supposes it comes with the territory of having been part of the rebellion. George and Tommy, Wilbur’s younger brother and second-in-command, are both instinctual users, with George’s defensive magic and Tommy’s destructive magic. Sapnap, Niki, and Wilbur are all half-mages; Sapnap is a fire mage, Niki is a healing mage, and Wilbur’s spells are based around his songs. Full mages are rarer, just because of how difficult it was for them to hide under the old king’s rule. The only full mages Dream has even heard of are Sam, the former royal mage; Tubbo, his current apprentice; and Quackity, Schlatt’s right-hand man. Antfrost is Sam’s familiar, technically a magic user, but also technically not human.

Dream is supposedly an instinctual user, according to Sam. The only problem is that nothing’s happened since that first time he used it. They’ve tried everything, he and George and Sapnap staying up until early hours of the night the first few months trying to make something, anything, happen. Eventually, they gave up on it, figuring that if it was needed, his magic would show.

Of course, after the first disastrous time his magic showed, he isn’t sure he ever wants to see it again. Schlatt was there when he killed the king, hidden by an invisibility potion. And the ancient laws of the land say that anyone who kills a royal must face death. Dream has only heard the last part from George, but apparently the prince made a deal with Schlatt: the kingship for Dream’s life.

Which hasn’t been resolved yet, either. Schlatt apparently threatened that he would come up with some impossible task for Dream, and if he completed it, he’d be free. They wouldn’t have to worry about Schlatt revealing their secret. Dream doesn’t trust it one bit, and he knows George doesn’t, either, but there’s not really anything that either of them can do about it. The old king, and by extension Schlatt, had too many allies that would call for Dream’s head if they knew what really happened.

At least the people are content. Schlatt created a Cabinet of advisors that has to sign off on all of his decisions, even though he continues to make sure they all knew he was still the king. He started with protections for magic users and getting rid of unjust taxes, and that was enough for the people to ignore the shady side-business stuff he was running with people he claimed were ‘business associates.’ Even if the people choose not to notice, those in the castle have, including Wilbur, who Dream can tell is practically rearing to start another rebellion.

But lucky for them, Schlatt’s meetings with so-called ‘business associates’ are the days that they get to hold manhunts.

“Good run, good run,” George says, shaking Dream’s hand. Dream grins back at him- he’s got a new mask, same smiley face, but this one shows his mouth. George insisted on it, claiming he could never tell Dream’s facial expressions. The rest of their friends agreed, resulting in the mask that stops just below his nose. George’s face has a faint red tint to it, and Dream can’t tell if it’s from exertion or something else.

That’s the third unresolved thing. The weird tension that’s been running beneath his relationship with George practically since they met. There’s something there, and he knows George can feel it, too. But George is pretty much the one thing keeping him from being executed, not to mention that the last thing he wants is to make George uncomfortable, so if George doesn’t say anything, he’s not going to say anything.

He voiced this to Sapnap multiple times. “That’s a stupid fucking way of looking at things, Dream,” Sapnap told him. He considered just not talking to Sapnap about it, but he needs someone to dramatically flop on and complain to whenever George does something especially heart-stopping.

Like now. When he’s looking up at Dream with a soft smile that’s reserved just for him. Dream is about to tease him for it, but George has a sixth sense for that at this point and switches to a scowl.

“Alright, show’s over!” he calls. “Schlatt’ll be here in an hour, everyone pretend you’ve been busy!”

When Schlatt’s gone, George is in charge. The way the government here works has changed a lot in the past several months. Schlatt’s official title is still King, but they all agree that he’s more like an all-powerful president. George is still the heir to the throne and still has the title of Prince, but he’s more of a vice president. The rest of Schlatt’s Cabinet consists of Wilbur, Quackity, Bad, and Karl, as well as a few old noblemen that he kept around just to keep a few of the old king’s allies happy.

Manberg’s prominence has grown greatly, with tales of Pogtopia reaching even the farthest lands. Both Pogtopia’s allies and the old king’s allies have signed treaties, usually with George sent to mediate, creating the strongest inter-kingdom relations they’ve known in decades. Schlatt’s done a good job of keeping everyone happy, Dream will give him that.

He’s kept their closest neighbor happy, the Kingdom of Pride, which is saying something. King Eret is best friends with George, and was not thrilled to hear that Schlatt would be taking the throne instead. Of course, once their sister Niki explained the situation (Niki heard from Wilbur who heard from George), they understood. They also were understanding of their brother Tubbo’s decision to take off with Sam and Ant to try and learn a thing or two about being a mage.

The Manberg castle, meanwhile, has remained a mash of members of Pogtopia. Dream has kept his position as captain of the guard, as well as being George’s personal guard. Sapnap, Punz, and Ponk are still knights working directly under him, and he still considers them his team. Purpled has joined that team, knighted by Schlatt only a few months ago. Skeppy remains the royal artificer; Jack and Ranboo have both been made official royal ambassadors. 

Schlatt has attempted multiple times to get both Fundy and Tubbo on his Cabinet, and while Tubbo hasn’t accepted yet, Fundy’s getting close. Niki splits her time between her home kingdom and Manberg, using her cleric abilities to keep them all healthy, her knight Puffy trailing her at all times. Callahan and Alyssa are both working directly under George, standing in for him whenever he’s busy, because it seems like he’s always supposed to be doing five different things at once.

And then there’s Tommy. Tommy, who’s technically Wilbur’s assistant, his right-hand man. Whenever Dream has a moment alone, it seems like Tommy is there. He was sullen at first, with his best friend gone and his father and brother, Philza and Technoblade, both leaving to continue their adventuring. Now, however, he’s been begging Dream to train him every chance he gets. Dream usually obliges, just because he knows Tommy is prone to getting into fights, but he worries that there’s something more.

Tommy’s been sending a lot of letters. He was already sending a lot of letters to Tubbo, but in the past month, the number has increased tenfold. Dream worked with Technoblade for two years, he knows the pig hybrid’s handwriting, and he knows for a fact that Techno and government are not a good mix.

Not that he’d mind Schlatt being overthrown. But they just had a massive coup, they don’t need a second one for at least another month.

“George!” Callahan calls, pulling Dream out of his thoughts. “I need some signatures for something- Dream, Punz was looking for you, I think.”

Dream nods, looking to George to make sure he’ll be okay on his own. George rolls his eyes. He’s been wearing his goggles a lot less; now that everyone knows he’s of royal blood, there’s not as much need to hide the one-blue, one-brown eye that marks Manberg royalty. He still wears them when they’re just hanging out, claims it’s for his vibe. Dream never knows if he’s joking or not.

“I’m perfectly capable on my own, Dream,” George reminds him, like he does every time the two split up. Dream nods and leaves to seek out Punz; George follows Callahan.

He finds Punz in the training arena, halfway up the bleachers. Ponk, Purpled, and Quackity are all gathered around, and they all wave to Dream as he enters.

“What’s going on?” he calls.

“Heard you got your ass beat!” Punz yells, and the others jeer. Dream laughs; he should’ve known they just wanted to make fun of him.

“Not by much!” Dream retorts. “I only had one task left!”

“Who got you?” Ponk yells.

“Ant!”

Quackity cheers, hands in the air. “Magic for the win!”

“Was it game-legal magic?” Purpled asks as Dream jogs over so they don’t have to yell.

“Yeah, it was legal, that’s the worst part,” he replies.

“Damn, bro,” Punz says, shaking his head. “Goodbye to your win streak, I guess.”

He hangs out with them for a while longer, mostly just joking around. He doesn’t even realize how much time has passed until Alyssa is rushing up to him.

“Schlatt’s back,” she says, grabbing his arm. “He just got out of a talk with George, George looks pissed-”

Dream is running before she even finishes, knowing the others are following him. If Schlatt’s back, he probably wants to see Quackity immediately, and the other three have to all pretend to be doing their jobs.

George is in his office- every Cabinet member has one, though half the time Wilbur and George share, used to being in the same space. Wilbur is absent right now- George is fuming.

“Hey,” Dream says. “What’s- oh, okay, hello.”

George has face-planted into his chest, arms dangling at his side. Dream pats him on the back awkwardly, not really sure what to do.

“Fuck,” George spits out, pulling back. He runs a hand through his hair and turns back to his desk, rustling around for something. “Sorry, I just- Schlatt.”

“Schlatt,” Dream agrees. “You okay?”

“We gotta go talk to him,” George responds, shaking his head. “He wants to talk to you. I think he’s found a job.”

“A job,” Dream says slowly. “Like-”

“Like an impossible task job,” George confirms. “Like an impossible task that’ll probably kill you but if you do it he’ll leave us alone, job.”

“That kind of job,” Dream says blankly. Whatever it is, if he does it- he doesn’t have to worry about Schlatt spilling his secret, him being executed. More importantly, George doesn’t have to worry about that. If Dream does an impossible task, it won’t matter who he killed, the old king’s allies will love him- George could overthrow Schlatt without fearing for Dream. George could reclaim his throne.

“What are we waiting for?” Dream asks, grinning. “Let’s go.”

George is fucking pissed.

They’d just won the manhunt- great! Awesome! And then Schlatt got back and immediately demanded to see George and of course that had immediately gone to shit, and basically now he’s having a really bad day. Dream’s grin as he practically bounces to Schlatt’s office isn’t helping.

Face planting into Dream’s chest really wasn’t his brightest moment, but if he’s about to lose Dream for real- well, impossible tasks are called impossible for a reason. Ender forgive him if he wanted a hug.

Schlatt is waiting in the throne room for them, feet propped up on one of the throne’s armrests. Quackity sends a look as he brushes past them, clearly attempting to communicate what kind of mood Schlatt is in- good, but in a dangerous kind of way. George nods in recognition as the mage hurries past.

“Ah!” Schlatt says loudly. “Dream! Good to see you!” He swings his feet down and stands up, walking down to meet them. He’s clearly waiting for something. George inclines his head, not quite a bow, and looks to Dream. Very slowly, gritting his teeth, Dream sinks down.

“Schlatt. The pleasure is mine. I heard you had a job for me?”

“I’d hardly call it a job, my friend! It’s your impossible task! Didn’t George tell you?”

George rolls his eyes. He really, really wants to put his fist between Schlatt’s eyes, ender, just one solid hit-

“He did. He didn’t mention what the task was, though.”

“Because I didn’t tell him,” Schlatt responds. “The reason for my meeting, however, is where I came up with it. King Eret brought to our attention the recent influx of endermen into the Overworld, as well as ancient legends of the End.”

And shit, that sends George’s magic and his heart skyrocketing. He can see where this is going from a mile away- they all use ‘ender’ as a curse because that’s what it is, a curse, a legend, something unattainable, nothing more. Endermen come from the End and that’s all they need to know, any other myths of dragons and cities can be thrown out the window-

“So what is it you want me to do?” Dream asks.

“I want you to go to the End and kill the enderdragon.”

Dream looks shocked, almost. The enderdragon is a fable, a myth, only killable in legends. Dream being expected to find a way to the End and kill it alone-

George’s magic rushes up into his ears, positively screaming at him. They don’t call it his alarm system for nothing, but it’s never done something like this before. It feels like it’s taking over his whole body, completely consuming him. There’s blue clouding his vision, the familiar shade marking his magic, and it’s so loud he can hear nothing but the pounding of blood in his ears. The next thing he knows there are familiar hands on his shoulders and a mask in front of his face.

“-George?” Dream says loudly. “George, hey, deep breaths, just breathe-”

“You’re not going alone,” George gasps. He looks over to Schlatt. “I’m going with him.”

“Well, now,” Schlatt starts. “That wasn’t-”

“There is a lot of blank space in that deal, Your Majesty,” George practically spits out. He shoves Dream aside so he can get up in Schlatt’s face, prince to king, trying his best to be threatening. There’s still blue clouding the edges of his vision, and based on the way Schlatt is looking at him, it shows. “And there’s nothing that says I can’t go with him. I’m going with him.”

“George-” Dream starts, and George tries to send him a look that conveys ‘we’ll talk about this later.’ Dream shuts up, so he must get the picture.

“Fine,” Schlatt says, his shocked expression going back to his easy grin. He spreads his hands wide and shrugs. “Fine. So you both die. See if I care. Dream, if you kill the enderdragon and bring me its head, you’re done. You’re free. George- I guess you can go with him.”

“Good,” George says, taking a steadying breath. “I’m glad we’re in agreement.”

“You’re free to go,” Schlatt replies easily.

George turns and marches out of the room, Dream following him quickly.

“What the hell was that?” he asks, but George is still storming to his office, not pausing to talk. Dream jogs to catch up with him, clearly confused. “George?”

“Not now,” George growls. His magic is quieter now, but it’s still yelling, it’s still filling every part of him, it’s telling him defend, protect-

He tugs Dream inside his office and closes the door, then whirls back.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Dream asks. George starts toward him, intending to take the mask off, but he realizes that’s a step too far and stops.

“Can you take the mask off?” he asks, and his voice sounds much smaller than he was intending it to. “Please?”

Dream still looks completely confused, but he obliges, reaching up and pushing the mask to the side. Golden eyes stare back at him, and yes, George knows they’re green, but all he sees is gold. When Dream’s magic was surrounding them, when they killed the king, all he saw was gold.

His magic quiets somewhat, seeing Dream’s face, knowing that he’s okay. George lets out a little huff and sits down at his desk. Dream pulls the mask back over his face and leans against the door.

“What happened?” he asks, and his voice is gentler this time. “You gotta talk to me, George-”

“I don’t know,” George snaps, and then winces. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just- the second Schlatt said that, it was like something went off, worse than- worse than when we were fighting my father. My magic was going crazy.”

“I could tell,” Dream snorts. “Your eyes- they were both glowing blue, George, and you weren’t responding and Schlatt was just standing there-”

“I’m coming with you,” George says firmly. “I- that’s the only thing that’ll get it to shut up, I think. I need to come with you.”

“I’m not complaining,” Dream says, clearly trying to hide a smile. “It’d be awfully lonely trying to figure out how to get to the End on my own. But- it’s gonna be dangerous, George.”

“I know that,” George says, running a hand through his hair. “Trust me, I know. But if I don’t- if I don’t then I’m gonna be like this the whole time, thinking about what could happen if you were in trouble and I couldn’t help.”

And oh, how the roles are reversed. George remembers a time when Dream was being overly protective of him, the way George looked him in the eyes and promised he could take care of himself. Dream is clearly remembering the same occurrence, based on the way he wheezes.

“This isn’t- this isn’t funny, asshole,” George snaps, but he’s laughing too, and then they’re both laughing and Dream is doubling over and George is clutching his stomach and he actually has to wipe a tear away, they’re laughing that hard. It takes a moment for Dream’s wheezing to stop and then George is staring at that stupid mask seriously. “I’m coming with and we’re going to do this.”

“We’re gonna kill a legend,” Dream agrees.

“You’re going to what,” Sapnap says flatly. Dream has pulled him aside from whatever important task he’s actually been doing to let him know. George is telling Wilbur while he stands there in the training arena, new squires gathered some distance away, waiting for their instructor to come back.

“We’re going to kill the enderdragon,” Dream repeats. “Schlatt- uh- Schlatt says that’s my impossible task.”

“And George is going with you?” the fire mage asks. He glances over his shoulder to his students, holds up a finger, and then grabs Dream’s elbow and steers him away. “Are you fucking crazy?”

“Probably,” Dream admits.

“I’m coming with you,” Sapnap says, shaking his head. “I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“No,” Dream says immediately. As much as he wants his best friend with him, he needs Sapnap here for a different purpose, something he’s not going to tell George. “No, Sap, with George gone- the only thing that’s been stopping Wilbur from starting another revolution is George telling him no. With George gone, Wilbur’s last blockade is removed. I need you here as my stand-in captain of the guard, and I need you to make sure that nobody gets hurt.”

“You’re making me captain of the guard?” Sapnap hisses.

“Temporary!” Dream corrects him quickly. “Yeah, Sap, there’s no one else I trust with it more than you.”

Sapnap looks a bit shocked, as if there’s anyone else Dream would have picked. His shock morphs into something akin to displeasure, at this situation as a whole, probably, and his grip on Dream’s arm tightens.

“When are you leaving?” he asks.

“As soon as we can, probably,” Dream confirms. “Listen, Sap- this is the only way. We won’t have to worry about Schlatt anymore. If I kill the fucking enderdragon- the old king doesn’t matter. I’ll be untouchable. We can get Schlatt off the throne.”

“Right,” Sapnap says slowly. He runs a hand through his hair, adjusts his bandana nervously. “Alright. Just- promise me that you’ll be careful, okay, Clay?”

Oh, shit. Real name. Sapnap’s being extra serious.

“I promise,” Dream says earnestly. “I love you, brother.”

“I love you too. You’re sure I can’t come with?”

“I’m sure, Sapnap. I need you here.”

And as much as the other knight doesn’t like it, he still follows Dream’s lead. He nods seriously, hugs Dream tightly for just a moment, and then pulls back.

“I’ll see you soon.”

It’s a promise. A demand. Dream has no choice but to return. And he swears, as Sapnap jogs back to his students, he swears that he’ll return.

“Ender, George,” Wilbur huffs.

“Exactly,” George says with a nod. “Just- don’t do anything too stupid while I’m gone, okay?”

“Okay,” Wilbur agrees, but the gears in his brain are already turning. They both know that he’s lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ twitter](https://www.twitter.com/andthentheybow)   
>  [ tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/andthentheybow)
> 
> comments/kudos/etc are always appreciated!!!


	2. Mvmt V, Part 1: The Hunt Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George begin their quest. Wilbur and Schlatt begin their rivalry. Tommy writes some letters.

The last thing George does before they leave is seek out his mother.

It’s been three days since Schlatt gave Dream the quest; by now, everyone in the palace knows that the two of them are leaving in an attempt to slay the dragon. Several people have offered to come with them, and Schlatt has rejected every single one of them.

“You’re lucky I’m letting Georgie go with,” Schlatt growls to them when Dream goes to ask about taking Punz. “I wasn’t even going to do that.”

They both know that he’s a little afraid of what George will do if he doesn’t let him go- George supposes his sort-of panic attack was good for something, then.

Luckily, rumors of his display of magic didn’t spread along with the news of the quest, so when he goes to visit his mother, the first thing she does is chuckle and say, “Kind of Schlatt to let you go with your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Mum,” George reminds her, like he does during every conversation they have. She gives him a knowing smile and he does his best to not immediately spill everything- his magic, his feelings, the way his heart stutters when Dream walks into the room. “You’ve heard what we’re doing?”

“I have.”

“I don’t know when we’ll be back. If we’ll be back.”

“You’ll be back,” she says, and she sounds so certain it’s almost terrifying. She’s moving around her room, searching for something; George hovers in the doorway. She seems to find what she wants hidden behind a stack of books on one of her shelves- a sphere wrapped in a ratty old cloth.

“Here,” she says. “It’ll help you get to the end.”

“What is it?” he asks, reaching out. He unwraps the cloth and startles- staring back at him is a huge, glowing eye. It appears golden, swirled with color, and the thing that really sticks out to him is that it’s the same shade of gold that Dream’s eyes seem to be.

“It’s called an Eye of Ender,” she says. “Created from the pearl of an Enderman and powder from the rods of a blaze. I don’t know how many you’ll need, but this one’s been passed down through my family for as long as anyone can remember. A token of luck. It’ll help you get to the End.”

“Passed down through your family?” George asks, and his mother shrugs. This is the first he’s heard of anything like it. Based on how hidden it was, she’s probably tried to keep it that way.

“Keep it safe,” she says. “Keep it close. Don’t tell anyone you have it, except maybe Dream.”

“Alright,” George says, and he pockets it carefully. “Why?”

“They’re rare, Georgie, rare and powerful. You need to be safe out there. If people hear you’re trying to get to the End- well, you know the stories of the End City and the treasure it holds.”

He does. He knows of the rumors of flying cloaks and chests that never break and enchanted weapons in numbers beyond measure. He knows of the power said to be given to those who make it past the dragon. He knows how dangerous normal people can be, moreso than dragons and monsters and the threat of the void.

“I’ll be careful,” he promises, and she presses a kiss to his forehead and it feels like too much of a goodbye.

He’s already said his farewells, but everyone is gathered anyways to see them depart. Dream mounts Spirit quickly and holds out a hand to help George up; they’re only taking one horse, since Spirit is by far the best in the castle.

“Ready?” Dream asks. George sends one final look to Wilbur; he nods formally, his eyes dark. George’s magic roars, a warning, to watch out- he won’t be here to stop Wilbur’s schemes.

Good. Let Wilbur scheme. Maybe when they get back, Schlatt will already be off the throne.

“Ready,” George confirms, and with a final wave, they’re off.

They’ve come up with the basics of a plan: their first stop is Sam, to find out if he knows anything about the End or how to get there, and maybe to pick up some supplies.

That’s it. That’s all they have so far.

“We’ll be fine,” Dream had insisted. “I trust Sam.”

“So do I,” George had replied. “That doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be able to help us.”

Dream huffed something in agreement. Now, he glances back, and George raises an eyebrow.

“You should hold on,” Dream says, so quietly that George almost doesn’t hear him. His face flushes, and Dream backtracks quickly. “We’re going fast, I don’t want you to fall off, I-”

George wraps his arms around Dream’s waist. Dream goes quiet.

They ride on.

Wilbur watches George and Dream leave with what must be a sour look on his face. Schlatt is standing at the doors of the castle, arms crossed, Quackity at his side. As soon as Spirit is out of sight, he turns and strides back into the castle. Wilbur makes eye contact with Fundy, who nods and slips in after them.

With George gone, there’s an empty space on the Cabinet. Schlatt’s been hinting at giving Fundy a more official position ever since this whole thing started, and now under Wilbur’s orders, Fundy is going to take advantage of it.

Wilbur knows he can’t start a full-out revolution. George explicitly told him not to make a mess. But he can work in the shadows, he can get spies close to Schlatt that the king will trust, he can-

He can use everyone around him to his advantage. They’ll forgive him when Schlatt’s off the throne.

Because the people may not notice, but Wilbur does. He’s been friends with Schlatt for a long time, and he knows about the black market deals and and criminals that the king associates with. Real criminals, the ones that hurt people and don’t even have the courage to come out and admit what they’re doing. They do it from the shadows, and Schlatt’s the worst of them all.

Not that he’d ever say that to Schlatt’s face. Or even say it, period. He knows Schlatt’s got people everywhere, and for now, he wants Schlatt to trust him.

“Schlatt doesn’t trust you,” Tommy snorts. They’re sitting in Wilbur’s office, waiting for Fundy to come back. Tommy is sitting on top of Wilbur’s desk, going through his papers. Jack is leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Ranboo is pacing back and forth.

“I know that,” Wilbur hisses. “But if we both pretend that he does, it makes things easier.”

“How?” Tommy demands. “If you just say that you hate each other-”

“I can’t say I hate the king, Tommy, that’s probably treason or something,” he replies. “Besides, Schlatt’s helped us out of a lot of messes-”

“He’s gotten us into a lot more,” his brother points out. He sighs.

“Whatever happens, Wilbur, we stand with you,” Jack says, Ranboo nodding in agreement.

Fundy slips into the room shortly after, closing the door quietly behind him. He glances around, taking in the small amount of people gathered, and breaks into a grin.

“Schlatt offered me a permanent position on the Cabinet,” he says, and Tommy whoops. Jack and Ranboo both pat him on the back, and Wilbur hugs his son tightly.

“You know what we have to do,” Wilbur says, pulling back. He keeps his hands on Fundy’s shoulders, and Fundy nods seriously.

“When?” he asks.

Twenty minutes later finds Wilbur and Fundy having a screaming match in the dining hall. There are plenty of people there to witness it, plenty of people to spread the word to Schlatt that Wilbur and Fundy are seemingly on bad terms now. Plenty of reason for Schlatt to trust Fundy in a way he doesn’t trust Wilbur or Tommy or anyone else that was part of Pogtopia.

When it’s done, Fundy storms out and Wilbur runs a hand through his hair, doing his damn best to look frustrated- and he’s succeeding, he’s a good actor and he knows it. Not to mention that he was weaving a little bit of magic into his words. The small crowd watching them disperses. Wilbur makes eye contact with Callahan, who shakes his head. He doesn’t have time to interpret that before Bad is grabbing his shoulder, Skeppy behind him.

“Damn,” Skeppy says. “That was something.”

“Language,” Bad hisses. He’s staring at Wilbur with an odd look on his face. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Wilbur?”

“Excuse me?” Wilbur replies.

“You know what I mean,” Bad tells him. “Are you sure about this?”

A beat. A silent melody. The castle walls are humming. Wilbur smiles.

“I’m sure.”

Bad nods. He grabs Skeppy’s hand, and they leave Wilbur alone, only for the empty space to be filled by none other than the king himself.

“Some screaming match,” he says, usual grin on his face. “What’s going on, Soot?”

“Nothing,” Wilbur growls.

“Family problems? Yeah, I get it. You mad your son holds that same position of power as you?”

Wilbur silently apologizes to George as he snarls out, “You don’t know what the fuck is coming, Schlatt. Karma’s going to bite you in the ass.”

Schlatt has the audacity to wink at him.

“I can’t wait.”

They stand there for a moment, Wilbur glaring, Schlatt smirking, and the tension between them is as thick as the race for the throne.

Neither one of them is the true king. They’re both going to go for the power anyways. And neither of them care who gets in the way.

Sam’s house is a day’s ride from the castle. He’s technically still in the Kingdom of Manberg, but he’s on the farthest outskirts, close to the borders. It’s a small cottage that he lived in long before he was ever arrested, an address George has held onto since they first left. The closest village is an hour’s ride away, and it’s this village that George and Dream are taking a brief stop at when they see Antfrost. They’re in a market searching for dinner, and the familiar cat ears stick out to them almost immediately.

“Oh, hey,” Ant says when he sees them, sliding through the crowd. “What are you doing out here?”

“You left right after the manhunt, didn’t you?” Dream asks, slightly amused. “Schlatt gave me a quest. I’m killing the enderdragon.”

“He’s doing it all by himself,” George says dryly. “Fancy seeing you this far from your home.”

“I’m visiting someone,” Ant retorts, his face flushed red. “What’s it to you?”

Dream immediately pounces on this, demanding information, and George laughs. Ant deflects as best as he can, but it’s useless against Dream’s constant pressuring.

“Oh my Ender, fine, his name’s Red, shut the hell up,” Ant growls, hiding his face in his hands. “Get your food and get to Sam before dark, you idiots, he’ll probably attack you if you show up after nightfall.”

They show up just as dusk is setting in, and Sam doesn’t attack them. Tubbo does, however, sword pointed directly at Spirit. The horse comes to a stop, completely unbothered. Tubbo holds his blade high. George decides to let Dream focus on that problem and peers past him, taking in the small cottage hidden by trees. There are bees’ nests scattered around, which George thinks is a nice touch.

“Oh, hello!” Tubbo says excitedly, recognizing Dream’s mask. The sword in his hand is actually only the hilt, the blade being made of purple magic. It looks- it looks really cool, actually, George thinks, he kind of wishes he was a full mage so he could do something like that. As the kid realizes who they are, the blade disappears, and he hooks the hilt onto his belt. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Tubbo,” Dream says with a grin, sliding off the horse. He holds out a hand to George, who rolls his eyes. He takes Dream’s hand anyways and jumps down. “Is Sam around?”

“Of course! Come inside, did you come straight from the castle? I can take care of your horse, is this Spirit? Hello, Spirit- just go inside, guys-”

George smiles at Tubbo, slightly amused. He looks freer than during the Rebellion, happier than George ever saw him in Pogtopia. Dream knocks before opening the door to the small cottage, and they go in together. George realizes as Dream tugs him through that their hands are still linked. He retracts his arm quickly, face red, and Dream snatches his own hand back at the same time.

The cottage is small, homely, with warm lighting coming from all around. George doesn’t see any candles, but there’s not a shadow in sight. Upon entering, they’re in a kitchen, and past that there’s what looks like a library. Sam is approaching, likely having heard the door open, familiar green mask over his face. He slides it up as he recognizes them, grin wide.

“Hey, guys,” he says as they step further inside, looking completely unsurprised to see them there. There’s a book floating in front of him as he walks and a pot on the stove with a spoon stirring itself. “What’s going on?”

“We need help,” Dream says. Sam raises one eyebrow and beckons for them to sit around the kitchen table. The book closes itself and Tubbo rushes in from a different door, humming softly.

“Explain the situation,” Sam says. “Help with what?”

“Ooh, help?” Tubbo says excitedly. “Something I can help with?”

“Maybe,” George says. “Schlatt’s given us a quest.”

“We’re killing the enderdragon,” Dream says bluntly.

Sam and Tubbo glance back and forth between Drema and George, trying to figure out if they’re being serious. Sam determines that they are.

“Well, then,” he says. “That’s certainly something.”

“Can you help us?” George asks. Sam lifts the mask and rubs his eyes. He sighs.

“Hypothetically, yes,” he says. “I don’t know much about the End, but what I do know is that it’s immensely difficult to get to. The only way there is through the end portal, which can only be found in a hidden and heavily guarded underground stronghold. Activating the portal takes work, including twelve legendary Eyes of Ender.”

The Eye in George’s pocket feels heavier, like it knows it’s being talked about. George’s magic rises the more Sam speaks, anxious, and he tries to push it down. It’s not like anything’s even happening now, it’s shouldn’t be rising like this-

“What’s an Eye of Ender?” Dream asks.

“Tubbo,” Sam says, and he sounds even more tired. Tubbo scampers over to the small library, digging around through the shelves until he emerges with a large book. He brings it to the table and sets it down with a thud. Dust scatters. The Eye feels even heavier.

“This is everything we have on the End,” Tubbo says.

“You’re welcome to take it with you,” Sam adds. “I don’t know how useful it will be, half of it is in some ancient language I don’t know, I’ve done my best to put translations in the margins, but unfortunately-” He grimaces. “Unfortunately, I was in the middle of translating when I was arrested. I haven’t had time to come back to it, with the kid and everything.”

“I’m not a kid!” Tubbo protests. All three of them give him a look.

“Thank you, Sam,” George says as sincerely as possible.

“Of course,” Sam says. “Do you want to stay here for the night? It’s late, and I can probably try and get a list of locations that might be helpful in your search. And you can look through the book tomorrow, if you want, try and get a solid plan.”

It’s like he knows they don’t have any actual idea of what they’re doing. George sends Dream a look.

“Thank you,” Dream says. “We’d love to.”

“There’s only one guest room, though,” Tubbo chirps. “So you’ll have to share.”

And everything in George stops.

“Alright,” Dream says. “That’s fine.”

Which is how George ends up with a bright red face as Dream tosses his mask off to the side, his shirt following. George carefully sets his coat down, wrapped around the Eye protectively. His magic roars as he separates from the Eye, but it quiets as soon as he’s closer to Dream.

What the fuck, he thinks, and he knows he’s not going to get an answer for any of this. Stupid magic. Stupid Dream. Stupid feelings.

“What side of the bed do you want?” Dream asks, and it’s so, so completely mundane and domestic that George can’t help but laugh. Dream laughs, too, a loud wheeze that seems to fill the entire room, and there’s no dragon now, there’s just the two of them and only one bed and ender, this is like every stupid cliche in every stupid romance novel George has ever read.

“The left,” he says, and Dream grins at him as he settles down on the right. George can’t help but think that his eyes look so, so similar to the Eye of Ender, golden and glowing, and he wants to find out if the Eye is green or not but something in him is still saying to not pull it out in front of Dream.

He slides into bed on the left side and stares at the ceiling as Dream blows out the candle that was lighting the room, and in the dark, at some point, Dream’s hand finds his, and everything feels okay.

Tommy thinks this whole thing is fucking stupid.

Listen. He’s a big man. He’s certainly capable of doing whatever Wilbur asks of him. But at the same time, there’s a lot of politics involved that he doesn’t really care about. He knows that Wilbur and Schlatt and George all want the throne, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter, does it? No matter who has the throne, there will be problems.

He just wants to go hang out with Tubbo. But Tubbo is doing important magic stuff, apparently, and not even his best friend can be hanging around for that. At least, that’s what all the adults tell him whenever he asks. Tubbo’s letters always say that he wishes Tommy was there with him, which Tommy agrees with.

Not that he’s clingy, or anything. Tubbo is the clingy one. Not him.

See, the thing is, while Wilbur’s been doing his politics thing with Fundy, or whatever, Tommy is having his own big man crisis. Well, it’s not a crisis. It’s a Situation, certainly, that warrants a capital letter. A capital-S Situation.

He got a letter from his dad a few weeks ago that he’s been keeping on him at pretty much all times. Dadza is a big man, Dadza is cool, he’s got wings and he adopts random kids and sure, he’s kind of an absent father, but he showed up when Tommy and Wilbur needed him. He was supportive of their rebellion.

And now he’s writing to Tommy, because apparently he’s paused his adventuring and he’s gotten to a somewhat stable situation, and he wants Tommy to come live with him.

Which, okay, Tommy isn’t exactly jumping at the chance to be under his father’s watchful eye. And he’s not really jumping at the chance to be even further away from Tubbo. He’s been with Wilbur for so long that he can’t even remember anything other than that.

But then he got another letter from Dadza, and then a letter from Techno. Techno’s letter was much less passionate, but very long and detailed. Tommy was able to get the jist of it, however: Techno wants Tommy to adventure with him.

‘Wilbur’s had his fun being big brother to you,’ Techno wrote, basically. ‘Now it’s my turn.’ Or something like that, he was only skimming it.

Tommy wrote to Tubbo about the whole thing. Tubbo told him that he didn’t know when Sam would be done training him- probably not for a long time- and Tommy should do whatever he thinks is right.

And he doesn’t really want to leave Wilbur, especially now that they might be starting another revolution thing. But he wants to adventure with the Blood God. He kind of wants to have a sense of security with his Dadza. He’s sixteen, for ender’s sake, he shouldn’t getting involved in another political coup.

That’s what Niki called it, the last time she was here, because he was sitting with her in the garden and she said that if Wilbur started another coup to let her know.

Does this count? He thinks this counts. He should write to Niki.

He should also write to Dadza and Techno, probably. He doesn’t actually know if they’re with each other right now, so he’ll write to both of them. He should probably be careful what he says to Techno, though, because Techno just likes dismantling governments and if he learns that Wilbur’s trying to dismantle a government again he’ll probably want to help. And then there would just be a lot of blood and mess and that’s a lot of work to clean up.

He writes to Niki, and Tubbo, and Techno, and Dadza. Good enough. If there’s anyone else important that’s not here that needs to know what’s going on, he’s sure that one of those four people will let them know.

He doesn’t get his own office, he has to share with Wilbur. So when his brother comes storming in after staging the fight with Fundy, Tommy gets to be there to see the look on his face. Tommy thinks the whole thing is just going to end up a mess, and he doesn’t think Fundy deserves that.

Because yeah, Fundy hasn’t been around their family for long, but legally Wilbur adopted him right before he became an adult, so Wilbur has a son that’s barely younger than him and a little older than Tommy. He doesn’t think about it that often- Fundy is his friend, and that’s what matters.

And holy fuck, Fundy had better pull this off. Because Fundy is pretty much their only solid ally, with Ranboo and Jack both ambassadors and easy to send away, and Niki and Puffy in another kingdom half the time. Everyone else is gone or their allegiance is iffy, and Wilbur continually says to him that the only people they can trust are each other.

Which is a pretty shitty way of looking at things, in Tommy’s opinion.

“Big man!” he cries, trying to lighten the mood. Because that’s what he does around Wilbur, he lightens the mood, he farms laughs, he’s a big man, that’s what he does- ender, maybe he should take Techno up on his offer. Learn to fight. Learn to farm potatoes. Avoid politics. “How’d it go?”

Wilbur gives him a Look.

And, okay. As much as he doesn’t care about politics, he likes causing chaos. He likes causing chaos a lot. His magic, based purely in destruction, really, really likes causing chaos. And based on the look Wilbur’s giving him, he’s going to be causing a lot of chaos.

This is going to be fun.


	3. Mvmt V, Part 2: Two Sides, Same Coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George make a discovery. Wilbur schemes. The Coalition forms again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops sorry it's been so long that's on me

Dream wakes up to a warm body pressed against his own. He looks down, only to get a mouthful of dark brown hair. George is pressed against his side, one arm thrown over Dream’s chest, and Dream has to try very, very hard to stop himself from smiling. He can feel his face getting red and okay, he’s pretty sure he fell asleep first last night, so did George just- do this in his sleep? He doesn’t want to put either of them in an embarrassing position, so he slowly, carefully, tries to wiggle his way out from under George.

It doesn’t work. What it does do, however, is wake George up. Dream pretends to be asleep immediately, and a moment later when George practically throws himself across the room, he figures it worked.

He lays there with his eyes closed for another five minutes, waiting to make sure his ruse is secure, and listens to George shuffling around the room. When he blinks his eyes open, George is hovering near the doorway in fresh clothes, goggles firmly over his eyes. He still blushes and looks away when he sees that Dream is awake.

“Morning,” he says. “I’m just heading down to get something to eat. Would you like me to wait for you?”

“No, that’s alright,” Dream says, and George closes the door on his way out. Dream takes two minutes to scream into the pillow, then gets himself up and gets dressed. The mask over his face feels heavier than normal.

“Hey, Sam,” he greets as he makes his way to the kitchen. George is sitting at the kitchen table, watching something out the open back door. Sam is running in from the backyard, his hair slightly singed. “What’s going on?”

“Tubbo blew up a tree again,” Sam responds, digging around in a cabinet for something. “Third time this week. His magic keeps getting stronger and it’s harder for him to control it.”

“Oh,” Dream says. “Fun.”

“No,” Sam says, pulling out a giant glass decanter. “Not fun.”

George snickers from the kitchen table, gesturing to Dream. They both move to the doorway to watch as Sam takes the lid off the decanter and water comes gushing out in a targeted blast, hitting a tree that’s currently on fire. Tubbo is standing off to one side, purple magic surrounding both his hands, and he appears to be desperately trying to get it to go away.

“I got it!” he yells triumphantly as the magic disappears. With the tree thoroughly doused, Sam forces the lid back onto the decanter.

“Good!” he says encouragingly. “That took way less than last time!”

“How long has that been going on?” George asks as Sam makes his way back into the house, Tubbo close behind.

“This whole time,” Sam says. “He just blows up randomly and it keeps getting worse.”

“I think it’s getting better,” Tubbo says with a shrug. “It means I’m stronger.”

The kid looks like he’s burned one eyebrow off. Sam points toward the stairs, and Tubbo begrudgingly trudges off.

“He’s way stronger than any other mage I’ve seen,” Sam admits. “But he is getting a handle on it. A few more months, hopefully it’ll taper off and we won’t be at risk of, you know, blowing up a village or something.”

“That’s always good,” George mutters, and Dream laughs. Sam doesn’t look very amused. He just points them back toward the kitchen table and starts making them eggs.

They make it about a full minute into some peace and quiet when Antfrost chooses to return to the house by slamming the door open. He looks around wildly, flashes a thumbs-up at Dream and George, and says, “Did Tubbo blow up a tree again?”

“Yes,” George and Dream say at the same time. Sam abandons his eggs to sit down at the table and put his head in his hands.

They manage to spend their breakfast in relative peace. Dream tries to bully Ant about this Red as much as he can, because they’re friends, and that’s what friends do. Ant doesn’t seem to mind- they learn that Red is a mage that lives in the village and he and Ant have been a ‘thing’ since before Sam was captured.

Ant sends Dream several looks. Dream knows exactly what they mean, and he chooses to ignore them. This does not please the familiar, who ends up kicking him under the table when he laughs at a joke George makes. Dream decides now is a good time to change the subject as quickly as possible.

“So about that book,” he starts.

They spend a good few hours poring over the book, trying to figure out their next steps. All they really manage to do is confirm that they need twelve Eyes of Ender. The Eyes will help them find the stronghold, but there’s the risk of them breaking, so they’ll need extra.

“As for making them, it looks like you’ll need ender pearls and blaze powder,” Sam says.

“What the fuck is blaze powder?” George asks. “Like- like from a blaze? From the Nether?”

“Yeah,” Dream says, swallowing harshly. “We’ve gotta go to the Nether. Do you know anything about making a Nether portal, Sam?”

“Barely,” Sam says with a shrug. “All of my Nether-related supplies I usually buy. It’s why potions are so rare, they all need Netherwart, which can only be found in-”

“Fortresses,” Tubbo supplies helpfully. He’s regained his missing eyebrow and looks much happier, currently sitting on top of the kitchen table and playing with his magic by telekinetically lifting random things. “Which are super rare.”

“Thanks, Tubbo,” George says sarcastically. Tubbo just grins back.

“I know someone that might be able to help you,” Ant offers. “Have you heard of the Antarctic Empire? Legend has it that one of its emperors came from the Nether.”

“I’ve heard of it,” George says with a frown. “Far north. They tend to stay out of pretty much everything, I don’t think we’ve even sent ambassadors since they were formed.”

“Well, then,” Dream says. “It’ll be a diplomatic mission on top of everything else. You think they’ll help us, Ant?”

“They better,” Ant says with a shrug. “Else they’ll have all of Manberg and its allies to reckon with, won’t they?” He’s mostly joking, but Dream can’t help but think he’s right. Manberg is powerful, not to mention the Pogtopia Rebellion has made them famous. The Antarctic Empire is bound to help.

“Sapnap,” Wilbur hisses. Sapnap doesn’t look up. “Sapnap!”

Clearly annoyed, Sapnap turns back. He’s in the middle of sharpening his sword, and he clearly wasn’t hoping to be interrupted by Wilbur. Oh, well. That’s his problem. Wilbur’s here now.

“What do you want?” Sapnap asks. “Why are you whispering at me?”

“I need to talk to you,” Wilbur says.

“We can talk right here.” Sapnap gestures around the empty room and at his sword. The loud buzz of the sharpening iron does make for good cover, Wilbur thinks. “What’s up?”

“What are your feelings on Schlatt?” he asks, grabbing a stool and sliding it over so he can sit next to the knight. Sapnap does not look amused.

“I dunno,” he says. “Dream told me to keep the peace, though, so I’m not going to be going against him any time soon. If that’s what you’re asking.”

“Okay, okay,” Wilbur says, raising his hands defensively. “I’m not planning on it, don’t worry.”

“Sure,” Sapnap huffs. “You might want to be careful, Wilbur. You never know who’s really on Schlatt’s side when you think they’re on yours.”

And fuck if that isn’t ominous. Wilbur gives a half-hearted wave to Sapnap, who goes back to his sword. Alright. One down, and that wasn’t necessarily a no. So. Win.

Since George’s departure the previous day, Wilbur’s been hard at work. So far, he’s made exactly zero new enemies, which he thinks is a major victory. He’s got Fundy firmly placed in Schlatt’s cabinet in a position of trust. Tommy’s getting prepared to cause some major trouble. And Niki, hypothetically, is on her way over to stay at the Manberg palace until George gets back. Another major victory, because if Niki’s here, Puffy’s here, and he knows for sure Puffy will be on their side.

He’s fairly certain that the rest of the knights that fought for Pogtopia aren’t going to be on their side. Not that he blames them; working under Schlatt is safe. They’ve kept their positions and most of them have been given pay raises, even, which makes it unlikely that they’ll go against the king. But it’s worth a shot, especially since the only people firmly on his side are mostly kids. Okay, some of them are adults, but he still sees Jack and Fundy as kids.

It’s not even like he’s power hungry, wanting to take the throne. He just wants Schlatt gone, because Schlatt is power hungry. And maybe he’s trying to justify it to himself, sure, but he doesn’t think Schlatt should be the ruler. Not after that shit he pulled with George. If getting Schlatt off the throne means Wilbur is the king, then cool, fine, whatever. But the ultimate goal here, he keeps telling himself, is getting George back on that throne. Getting George to his rightful place has always been Wilbur’s goal.

And sure, George told him not to start anything. But change never came about all on its own. Wilbur’s going to be the change, whether any of the rest of them like it or not.

The next person he seeks out is Punz. It’s Punz’s day off, but he still finds the knight chilling in the bleachers of the arena, watching Ponk and Purpled spar. He’s got a drink in one hand and looks incredibly bored. He doesn’t even look up when Wilbur sits down.

“Long day?” Wilbur asks.

“What do you want?” Punz replies. He doesn’t sound upset- no, he sounds like he already knows where this is going.

“Just to know where your loyalties lie,” Wilbur responds coolly. “Out of pure curiosity, I promise you.”

“With the king,” Punz replies, equally as coolly. “Where my duties are. I live to serve.”

“Of course you do.” He keeps a smile on his face, and Punz tips his drink. Wilbur mimics the action with a pantomime and tries not to curse as he walks off.

He manages to catch Ponk and Purpled as they’re making their way out of the arena. Purpled grins when he sees his former general. Ponk looks less pleased.

“Saw you talking to Punz,” Ponk says. “What’s going on?”

“Just wondering about your thoughts on Schlatt,” Wilbur replies easily. “I’m doing a little survey.”

Purpled snorts.

“We’re knights,” he says. “We stick with the king.”

Ponk pats him on the back, looking like ever the proud mentor. Wilbur nods.

“Good to know,” he says. Alright, that’s four for four that are supporting Schlatt. No matter. He’s got…

Callahan and Alyssa. They’re who he goes for next, because if anyone’s going to support getting George back on the throne, it’s the prince’s two best friends. At least, that’s his line of thought when he enters their office, only to find the two of them hunched over a giant map.

“What?” Alyssa snaps. Callahan shoves the map onto the floor.

“What are you doing?” Wilbur asks, narrowing his eyes.

“It’s not important,” Callahan replies. “What are you doing? Do you know how to knock?”

“I was just-” Wilbur starts, and he closes the door slowly. “I was coming to talk to you about Schlatt.”

“Oh, thank ender,” Callahan huffs, going for the map. Alyssa waves for him to stop. “I mean-”

“I’m starting a revolution from the inside,” Wilbur says. Alyssa gestures for Callahan to go again. He picks up the map and spreads it back out on the table, and Wilbur sees what looks like blueprints for catacombs running under the castle. “Want to join?”

“Okay,” Callahan says. Alyssa sends him a look.

“George explicitly told us not to start anything,” she says. “So if anyone asks, we’re neutral. But if you just so happened to get your hands on a map of the underground catacombs...”

She reaches out and slowly slides the map toward him.

“It wasn’t on us,” Callahan finishes with a grin.

“Thank you,” Wilbur says, and he means it. “I didn’t even know there were catacombs running under the castle.”

“We didn’t either,” Alyssa shrugs. “Then we were digging through some old blueprints looking for secret rooms and we found this.”

“You were going to help me either way, weren’t you?”

Alyssa puts a finger to her lips and winks at him. Wilbur grins and stuffs the map into his jacket pocket. No one’s going to catch him with it.

He continues checking people off the mental list- Bad and Karl are both on the Cabinet, so he doesn’t want to talk to either of them lest word get back to Schlatt. Quackity is Schlatt’s right-hand man before anything else. Skeppy and Bad have their… whatever it is, so he can't talk to Skeppy. Which means everyone that fought on Pogtopia’s side that’s currently in the castle is either on his side or against it, and he doubts there’s anything he can do to convince the other party to change.

So be it, then.

“Sorry, what?” Bad says.

“King Eret was just spotted making their way through the city,” Karl repeats, out of breath. He looks like he just sprinted a mile, and he’s hunched over trying to talk to Bad in the entrance of the palace. “They’re heading straight for us and apparently they did not look super pleased.”

Bad restrains himself from swearing. “Go find Schlatt,” he says instead. “Tell him Eret’s on their way and we need to prepare for a delegation immediately. Who did Eret all have with them?”

“No idea, but it was definitely them,” Karl says. “Probably Princess Niki, I would assume.”

“Alright,” Bad says, patting Karl on the back. “Go tell the King. Go!”

Karl nods and runs off. Bad adjusts his shirt and makes his way to the doors as quickly as possible, throwing them open. Sure enough, there’s King Eret and Princess Niki outside the gates, looking impeccable and regal as always, and also a fair amount pissed.

“Let them in!” Bad yells to the guards, and the gates are opened quickly. The King and their delegation dismount quickly, stablehands rushing forward to take care of their horses. Eret and Niki lead the walk forward, stopping in front of Bad. “King Eret, a pleasure to see you, as always, however unexpected.”

“Bad, my thanks for appearing so welcome to host us on such short notice,” Eret replies cordially. “I trust you’re in good health?”

“Most excellent, Your Majesty,” Bad confirms. He turns to Niki and bows. “Your Highness.”

“Hello, Bad,” Niki giggles. “How are you doing?”

“Perfectly fine,” Bad says. He’s stalling for time as much as he can, and he knows they can tell, but they aren’t going to say anything about it. He makes eye contact with Captain Puffy standing slightly behind Niki and nods formally; she nods back.

He can’t stall anymore. He steps aside and holds out an arm, and Eret nods as they walk past, Niki at their side. Bad falls into step next to Puffy.

“Where’s my duckling?” Puffy asks, a term she’s taken to referring to Dream as in the past few months. “I thought he’d be here.”

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” Bad mutters.

Schlatt is waiting for them in the throne room. He’s got one leg crossed over the other and a huge crown on his head, all for show. Quackity, Karl, Fundy, and Callahan are standing in position, waiting. Callahan looks unsure of himself, and Bad doesn’t blame him- he’s filling George’s shoes right now. Bad rushes to take his place between Quackity and Karl, and Wilbur hurries into the room to stand next to Fundy.

“King Eret!” Schlatt calls, an easy grin on his face. “What brings this visit about?”

“King Schlatt,” Eret calls back, a tad less enthusiastic. “I heard my good friend Prince George was not in the castle for some reason. What’s this about a quest?”

“You refer to the task I gave to Dream,” Schlatt says, sitting up. “How’d you find out about that?”

“It’s not important,” Eret says. Bad sees Niki’s face flush just slightly. “Is it true, then? You sent them to kill the enderdragon?”

“It’s true,” Schlatt confirms. “Dream owes me a favor, and George refused to let him go alone. They left yesterday morning. Why does this concern you so much that you would make the journey all the way over here?”

“Please, it was no trouble,” Eret says dismissively. “My sister was ready to begin her stay here, so I saw fit to accompany her. I figured I could check in on the situation.”

“Sure, sure,” Schlatt says. He doesn’t buy it for a second, Bad can tell. But surprisingly enough, he doesn’t say anything about it.

“I’ll just be on my way, then,” Eret says. “It was a pleasure seeing you and your Cabinet as always, King Schlatt.”

“Same for you,” Schlatt says, nodding his head slightly. Eret offers a bow with a slight sneer, then turns on their heel and stalks out of the room. Their delegation follows them, and Schlatt waves a hand to dismiss the Cabinet.

Bad and Wilbur both go running after the delegation immediately. Wilbur pulls Niki aside, and Bad goes straight for Eret.

“What in the everloving ender was he thinking?” Eret hisses to Bad immediately. “Sending them to the Nether? To the End? They’ll die!”

“Give Dream a little more credit, Your Majesty,” Bad says, trying not to smile. “If anyone can find a way, it’s Dream. Especially with George by his side.”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Eret grumbles. “I’d better be getting back, if I find out George is dead because of this shit-”

“He’ll be fine,” Bad promises, and leaves off the ‘I hope’ that his brain helpfully supplies.

He exchanges a look with Puffy as Eret leaves. Puffy looks less than impressed with the whole situation. He shrugs again, then makes his way to his office, where he knows Skeppy will be waiting.

Sure enough, the royal artificer is there, diamonds gleaming on his neck, swinging his legs back and forth as he sits on top of Bad’s desk.

“What happened?” he asks immediately. Bad manages to refrain from slamming the door. He also manages to refrain from swearing.

“Eret wanted to know where George was,” he says with a shrug. “Wilbur’s up to something, too. I think we need to reform the Coalition.”

“Bad, Sam and Ant aren’t even here,” Skeppy points out.

“We need to get them here, then. I have a feeling we’re going to need them.”

“Niki!” Tommy cries. He wasn’t expecting to see her today, but she’s here now, which is bloody excellent. She grins and hugs him tightly, then pulls back.

“How are you?” she asks immediately. “How have you been doing? I got your letter, I hope you don’t mind that I brought Eret here right away-”

“Oh, is that what was going on?” he asks. “I’m positively splendid, how are you?”

“I can tell that that’s sarcasm,” Niki giggles. “What’s going on, Tommy? Wil told me that things were getting messy.”

“Yes, but this is much more important,” he tells her. And it is, really, because Wilbur’s revolution is cool but also he is having a Big Man Internal Conflict and Tubbo isn’t here for him to talk about it to, and he certainly can’t ask his family because they’re all biased, so Niki is absolutely his best option.

“Alright, then,” she says. They’re standing in the middle of the hallway, so he grabs her hand and drags her into Wilbur’s office. Wilbur is still standing and talking with Puffy, so Tommy figures they won’t get interrupted. “Is this about your letter? About Technoblade?”

“Yes,” Tommy says. “It absolutely is. What do I do?”

“Well, you can’t ask me that, Tommy,” she tells him. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head. Do you want to adventure with Technoblade?”

“I mean, yes.”

“And you want to stay here with Wilbur?”

“Also yes.”

“Then it looks like you have a decision to make. But remember you’re only sixteen, Tommy. If you decide you don’t want to do any of those things and you’d rather just live peacefully with Phil, I’m sure that that could be arranged, too.”

And damnit, Niki is right. Of course Niki’s right, she’s always right, Tommy thinks. She offers him a kind smile that he practically has to return.

“Thank you, Niki,” he says honestly. This hasn’t helped his Internal Conflict at all, but at least Niki and Puffy are here now, so maybe Wilbur will stop worrying so damn much.

“Good news!” Wilbur calls, slamming the office door open. He barely allows Puffy to slip inside the room before he slams it shut again. With a wild flourish, he pulls a large sheet of paper out of his coat. “I found us a new underground base!”

“Okay,” George says. “Easy enough. We go north.”

Dream just looks at him. George can practically feel him rolling his eyes behind the mask. George is half-turned around on the horse, insistent on being the one riding in front today. Dream didn’t seem to mind, but right now his arms wrapped around George’s waist are more than a little distracting.

“Listen,” George says. “If you have any better ideas-”

“No, no,” Dream says. “By all means, let’s just go directly north, there’s no way that that can go wrong-”

“Are you guys going to leave, or are you just going to sit there and bicker like an old married couple?” Tubbo demands.

“That’s an insult to old married couples everywhere,” Ant says. Sam whacks them both gently on the shoulder.

“Get going, lovers!” he calls. “And don’t hesitate to come back if you need more help!”

George and Dream both shout their thanks before Dream yells for Spirit to go. George steers them north. Once again, he can practically feel Dream rolling his eyes. He doesn’t even need to turn around.

“We’ll be fine,” George says. Dream scoffs.

“I’m not worried.”

“You totally are.”

“Maybe.”

George smirks, and Dream squeezes his arms a little tighter, just for a moment. It feels like they’re silently communicating, and for some reason that sends a blast of happiness straight to George’s heart. He turns to look behind him, just for a moment. He sees the sunlight catching on Dream’s mask, and even with it on, George thinks he looks beautiful.

George turns back around. They ride on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ twitter](https://www.twitter.com/andthentheybow)
> 
> comments/kudos/subs/etc are always appreciated!


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